Recently there has been a fast growing and expanding interest in various “internet of things (IoT)” applications. Along with this trend, a lot of Wi-Fi-enabled devices are gaining popularity in the market, partly because of the native IP connection to Internet and the large eco-system around Wi-Fi devices such as the smartphones. Wi-Fi connectivity has also entered the lighting domain, such as the LIFX bulbs and the Osram Lightify gateway.
Before using a Wi-Fi-enabled device, a user needs to first setup the Wi-Fi connection between the new devices and the Internet through a Wi-Fi access points (AP). Such a setup process is commonly called Wi-Fi provisioning. In the lighting domain, it is also often called Wi-Fi commissioning.
Wi-Fi provisioning is a crucial entry point for any Wi-Fi device and is thus an important topic. There is still no perfect solution yet. Wi-Fi provisioning is still regarded as a difficult and sometimes confusing process by consumers of these devices.
A key aspect for Wi-Fi provisioning is to communicate the so-called Wi-Fi credentials, e.g. the SSID and password, to the new Wi-Fi devices. Most of the IoT devices such as lamps and power plugs, etc., are headless devices, i.e. there is no interface such as a touch panel, for a user to directly type in the Wi-Fi credentials. This may be resolved by employing a second device by the user, such as a smartphone, to facilitate the Wi-Fi provisioning process. Such facilitating device may be called the configurator. It is the role of the configurator then to communicate the Wi-Fi credentials to the new Wi-Fi devices.
There are a number of challenges in the communication process between the configurator and the new Wi-Fi devices. First, how can a user set up the communication to the new Wi-Fi device before the new Wi-Fi device is even able to connect to the actual Wi-Fi network. Secondly, the communication should be secure to protect the Wi-Fi credentials that need to be exchanged.